Date
Type

For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation And Exclusion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Scott Wilson - December 20, 2007 - 4:44pm

Fatina and Ahmad Zubeidat, young Arab citizens of Israel, met on the first day of class at the prestigious Bezalel arts and architecture academy in Jerusalem. Married last year, the couple rents an airy house here in the Galilee filled with stylish furniture and other modern grace notes.

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Hamas Calls For Truce With Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Sarah El Deeb - December 20, 2007 - 4:43pm

On Islam's most important holiday, the leader of Gaza's Hamas government appealed Wednesday for a cease-fire with Israel and said his people — battered by Israeli military strikes and international sanctions — are greeting this year's feast with "tears in our eyes." Hamas until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel, though one Cabinet minister said Israel might consider outside mediation with the Islamic militants.

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Israelis Cool To An Offer From Hamas On A Truce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 20, 2007 - 4:42pm

Officials in the Israeli prime minister’s office reacted coolly on Wednesday to an indirect approach by the Hamas leader in Gaza offering talks on a truce. The offer was relayed through an Israeli reporter, Sleman al-Shafhe, of Channel 2 television. On a news broadcast on Tuesday night, Mr. Shafhe said Ismail Haniya, the leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, had called him earlier in the day to convey a message to the Israelis.

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The Associated Press reports on Israeli reaction to the call by Hamas for a ceasefire with Israel (2.) The Washington Post examines the policies of separation and exclusion that Israel's non-Jewish Arab citizens face in a number of different areas (3.) In Foreign Policy In Focus, professor of politics at San Francisco university Stephen Zunes offers a mixed review of the two main arguments put forth by Professors Walt and Mearsheimer in their recently released book on the Israel lobby in the United States (4.) The BBC (UK) analyzes how much difference aid to the Palestinians can make to their daily lives (7.) The Reut Institute (Israel) publishes a post-Annapolis paper whose main contention is that the key to empowering the Palestinian Authority politically lies with Israel rather than with the international donor community (8.) Haaretz (Israel) reports on an Israeli government evaluation that extreme right-wingers in Israel will use violence to counter any illegal outpost or settlement evacuation from the occupied Palestinian territories (9.) Also in Haaretz, Amira Haas details the political jockeying behind the current Palestinian census, suspended in Gaza by Hamas (11.) An Amin (Palestine) opinion by member of the Palestinian National Council Bernard Sabella uses the occasion of the holidays to write an open letter to Israelis (13.)

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